Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Medical College of Georgia has received a $1.27 million two-part gift from the Helene Fuld Health Trust to expand nursing education in Georgia.

An approximately $1 million component of the gift, given over three years, allows MCG's School of Nursing to partner with the nursing schools of Macon State University and Georgia Southwestern University to expand the clinical nurse leader program.

MCG's master's-level, 16-month clinical nurse leader program is the first its kind in Georgia and fourth in the Southeast. It aims to reduce the nursing shortage by offering advanced degrees to those with non-nursing backgrounds, so students with a baccalaureate or higher degree in a non-nursing field can obtain a master's degree in nursing at an accelerated pace.

"We anticipate admitting eight clinical nurse leader students to each of these campuses as early as fall 2009," said School of Nursing Dean Lucy N. Marion. "This gift is clearly testimony to the strength of our clinical nurse leader program leadership, our entire enterprise and the quality of our employees and students."

Quoting from President Daniel W. Rahn’s 2008 State of the University Address, she noted, “We must be 'brave enough to clear paths through unfamiliar terrain to achieve greater efficiencies and shared success in unconventional ways.' With this gift, we are clearing those paths and achieving those successes."

The second award is a $250,000 endowment gift to provide scholarships for baccalaureate students in the MCG School of Nursing.

"This endowment gives us an unprecedented opportunity in the School of Nursing," said Dean Marion. "It is the largest undergraduate scholarship amount we have ever received and will undoubtedly aid in recruitment and support of exceptional students, ultimately helping alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage."

The Helene Fuld Health Trust is the nation's largest private foundation devoted exclusively to nursing students and nursing education. For more information, visit www.fuldtrust.org.